Traditionally, the club receptacle cavity of a golf bag has been straight up and down from top (opening) to the bottom base of the bag, with the base and opening being of the same shape and area. The top of the bag typically has a circular, horizontal opening, which opening, when the bag is in an upright position, is parallel to the ground. Variations of the circular opening include square, oval and triangular designs.
However regardless of the shape of the opening, in the traditional golf bag, the sides of the club receptacle cavity are perpendicular to the base of the bag. In other words, the body of the bag (i.e., the sides which form the receptacle cavity for the golf clubs) are arranged straight up and down from the top of the bag to the base.
In the prior art, many golf bags are provided with pockets or compartments sewn into the side of the bag to enable a golfer to store golf balls, towels, clothing and other accessories the golfer might wish to access on the golf course.
In that the receptacle cavity for the golf clubs is defined by sides which are straight up and down from the base of the golf bag to the opening of the golf bag, when pockets or compartments are added to the bag, the golf bag takes on a somewhat lopsided appearance. This is due to the fact that the pockets and compartments extend horizontally away from a normal line (i.e., perpendicular lines) to the periphery of the base of the golf bag. (In actuality, instead of the word "sides" being used, the receptacle cavity is formed of a contiguous side extending 360 degrees around the base of the golf bag).
Even when placing the golf bag on a flat surface in an upright position, the traditional bag, particularly when provided with pockets and compartments, has a propensity to tip over. All too often when a golf bag containing clubs is removed from a closet or storage area and placed in an upright position, the golf bag soon crashes to the floor.
This scenario is often repeated when a golf bag is removed from the trunk of a car and placed upright on the surface of a parking lot. The typical golf bag is prone to fall over when the surface is less than level or the slightest lateral force is applied to it. This propensity to fall over is caused by the fact that the typical golf bag is top heavy.
Such inadvertent falling is not only bad for the bags (in that the bags are scratched and scuffed by such occurrences), but such falls often damage the clubs the bags contain.
Another problem with traditional bags is that they are not designed to accept the fact that the shaft of the golf club increases in diameter from the point (i.e., the hosel) where the shaft connects to the club head to the grip of the shaft at the butt end of the club.
In other words, the grip-end (butt) of a club takes up more space than the narrow part of the shaft attached to the club head.
In that the grip end (butt) of the club rests upon the bottom of the golf bag at the base of the bag, this region of the golf bag (in a bag full of clubs) is congested to an extent that the various grips of different clubs are in frictional contact with one another--often necessitating muscular effort on the part of the golfer when removing or replacing a club.
Thus, a need is seen for a golf bag which is constructed to easily accommodate a full set of clubs so that the grips of the various clubs are not in frictional contact at the bottom of the bag, and whose base provides stability when the bag is in an upright position--even when the bag is provided with pockets and compartments.